Los Alamos Community Foundation Seeks New Executive Director as Second Decade Begins

The Los Alamos Community Foundation is searching for its next executive director after Liz Martineau announced she is relocating to Denver to be closer to family, the organization disclosed in a March 12 news release. The foundation, which marked its 10th anniversary last year, is entering its second decade with an eye toward expanding its philanthropic footprint in Los Alamos County.

Board President Linda Daly said the search is running "through March or until filled," with the board pressing for a quick hire so Martineau can assist with the handover before her departure sometime in June. Whoever steps into the role will take responsibility for more than $2 million in endowed assets spread across 20-plus endowed funds.

Daly said the incoming leader "will guide the Foundation through continued growth and investment in the community" and "will also be charged with oversight and increase of the Foundation's more than $2 million in endowed assets and 20-plus endowed funds."

The position carries day-to-day operational responsibility for the full organization. According to the foundation's LinkedIn job posting, the executive director reports to the board president, works closely with the full board, and currently supervises two staff members: an Anchorum Fellow and a part-time bookkeeper. The core work centers on building permanent, named endowment funds to support local nonprofits and community causes.

LACF's recent activity gives a sense of what the next director inherits. In the second half of 2025 alone, the foundation funded a new art space at the Betty Ehart Senior Activity Center through a joint LACF and Anchorum grant, distributed monthly 10-for-10 grants in September and October, and provided ABC Suicide Prevention Training in December.

Martineau, in a statement accompanying the announcement, offered a characteristic send-off rooted in the transient nature of Los Alamos itself. "Most of the people living in Los Alamos are transplants," she said. "I encourage all of you to bloom where you are planted. You can do that by volunteering, giving to local organizations, and helping your neighbors."

The foundation's origins offer some context for the scale of the transition. Tax filings from the fiscal year ending June 2016 show the organization took in just $22,000 in contributions, representing its entire revenue that year. By the fiscal year ending June 2018, it employed an executive director, Rachel Kizielewicz, at a salary of roughly $38,000. The current endowment of more than $2 million reflects substantial growth from those early years.

Candidates can find application details at losalamoscf.org. The foundation has also posted the position on LinkedIn, where it indicated a pay range is available, though the specific figures were not published in the news release.